Accidental drowning has been a leading cause of unintentional injury death worldwide, particularly for young children. The Center for Disease Control has reported that the highest drowning rate is among children ages 1 to 4. When playing in a shallow body of water, young children can easily lose their balance and submerge their nose and mouth under the surface of the water. Even with close adult supervision, it can be easy to lose sight of a child at a crowded beach or pool. Because of the risk of drowning present when young children are playing in water, even with adult supervision, there is a need for a device to immediately alert adults when a child's nose and/or mouth are in contact with the water.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,554,453 to Snyder et al., identifies a need for a device that detects a potential drowning with users that are permitted to have some water contact. Snyder proposes a water alarm device, including a buoyant alarm unit with a water sensor, for releasable attachment to a user. When a timer, in communication with the water sensor, determines that the duration of water contact with the water sensor has exceeded a predetermined time, the alarm device activates. When activated, the alarm releases from the user and travels to the surface of the water to transmit an alarm to a base station.
The device in Snyder is unsuitable for use by young children being supervised by an adult. The device in Snyder will only activate if submerged for a predetermined amount of time. While it may be safe for older children or adults to submerge their heads for a period of time while in the water, allowing young children to submerge their heads in water for any period of time creates a risk of drowning. Snyder contemplates a predetermined amount of time of thirty or sixty seconds for children under 3 or 4, which would not provide an immediate alert of potential drowning in young children.
The device in Snyder is also designed for releasable attachment to a user and is not suitable for use by a child who could cause the alarm unit to detach in quick succession when playing in water. It would be impractical to have an adult locate and reattach the alarm unit every time it was activated to reset the device system. Snyder does not meet the need for a water safety device that immediately alerts a supervisor that the user's nose and/or mouth has come into momentary contact with water and is easily reset.
Accordingly, there remains a need for a device that alerts a supervisor when a child's nose and/or mouth come in contact with water that is easy to reset each time that the system is activated.